I Could Probably Make Time
by NMKK
Summary: Megan and Peter spend some time together, and realize that their friendship could become a lot more. I upped the rating to T in the name of innocence.
1. Chapter 1

She sat lonely in her apartment, wishing her dinner with Lacey hadn't ended so quickly. She had been wishing a lot lately for her time with Lacey to be longer, almost like asking for five more minutes in the morning when she wakes up. These past few years had been tough. With the accident and a divorce, Meghan spent most of her time piecing her life back together or hiding from the real world wrist deep in the blood and guts of some poor unfortunate murder victim. Now, just as things appeared to be on the up and up, she found out that her husband was sleeping with her boss. She quietly wondered to herself, how much more can I take.

Earlier that day, her co-worker and newly found friend had asked her why the relationship, or whatever it is, bothered her so much. He had some nerve asking her a question like that. He obviously didn't understand women and the unspoken rules that are in place when it comes to exes. Kate had broken one of those unspoken rules, and she wasn't sure if she could forgive her for it. She had crossed a line that was firmly put in place by the years that she and Todd had spent together. They had a child together, and now as she had finally begun to move past the divorce he barges into her work life, the only solace in the storm that was her life. He was in disbelief when she confronted him about the relationship, but what really made her furious was the comment that he carelessly tossed at her without second thought. " I know you haven't been a nun for all of these years." he exclaimed with all the anger he could find. She had played those words over in her mind, and after thinking over the past few years, she could honestly say that she had. She went on a casual date here and there, but there was nothing serious.

As all of the events from the day flooded her mind, she heard a knock at the door. She jumped from her sofa, obviously startled out of her deep thought. She quickly moved to the door, absent absentmindedly straightening up the neurology magazines tossed on the coffee table. When she reached the peep hole, she looked through to find a familiar face with a bottle of red wine, and a brown bag. She cursed to herself. It was Peter.

Peter always had a strange way of opening up the floodgates of her mind. He always found a way to make her spill what she was feeling, an ability that was both endearing and annoying. She had developed a slight attraction to her handsome colleague, and since the discovery, she had tried to put space between her and him hoping to keep away from an inappropriate romantic relationship. She hoped that the evening would be strictly professional, but judging from the bottle of wine, Peter intended to comfort or lecture her. She slowly put on a polite grin, and opened the apartment door.

"Hi!" She said with forced excitement. "What's up" she said as she ushered him in closing the door behind them.

"You seemed upset when you left today, and I know you had a dinner with Lacey tonight. I figured you might need this." he said as he lifted the bottle of wine to eye level.

She giggled and brushed some stray strands of hair from her face. "My dinner went very well, but it was the only thing that went well today." she said thinking back to the day's events and turning the corners of her mouth in the opposite direction.

He placed the bag and the bottle of wine on the counter, walked slowly towards her, and wrapped his strong and muscular arms around her tiny frame. She was obviously taken back by the gesture, but she soon came to and returned the embrace. He leaned back and looked into her eyes. "This is why I came over. I figured you needed someone to talk to about all of this." he said stepping back from her as if her were in pain. " I also came to apologize for my lecture earlier. I know it isn't easy for you seeing Todd and Kate together, and it was insensitive of me." he said holding her gaze.

She stood motionless, soaking in his speech. She had never expected an apology from him, and now that he had offered it she didn't know what to do. She quickly mustered up her best fake smile, and grabbed the bottle of wine. " How about we put this to use." she said grabbing to glasses from her cabinet.

Peter chuckled softly and moved into the living area of her apartment. Right off the bat he noticed the magazines that were neatly stacked on her coffee table. "Once a neurosurgeon, always a neurosurgeon." he said flipping through the pages.

She turned slightly embarrassed and said," Once a cop, always a cop. Something told me you would notice those as soon as you came in". She walked from the kitchen to the living area and motioned to the brown bag on the way over. "What's that?" she asked setting the glasses on the coffee table.

He walked over and took the bag from the counter. "Well, if I know one thing about women, it is that chocolate can help with any problem they might have." He emptied the bag on the coffee table and revealed several dark chocolate bars. " I didn't know what brand you like, but I picked you for a dark chocolate person on the first day I met you." he said moving closer to her.

She smiled and crossed her arms. "How did you know I like dark chocolate?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

He smiled and answered, " Well, you are obviously a health nut. At lunch you ordered a salad with no dressing, and water. Dark chocolate is the healthier of the chocolates." he said with a flirtatious tone.

She let out a quiet laugh and plopped down on the sofa. "I'm impressed. What else have you deciphered about me detective?" she asked with an equally flirty tone. She grabbed her glass of wine and realized the dangerous situation she now found herself in. She was sitting in her apartment, in dim light, with a very attractive co-worker, a bottle of wine, and a slight tugging in her stomach that told her to go for it. The look on her face quickly changed a look of discomfort. She took another large sip of wine that caused her to choke slightly on the liquid.

Peter was startled from his comfortable position on the couch, and he moved swiftly to Meghan's side gently patting her back and telling her to take slow breaths. Her violent bought of coughing subsided, and she was now left with Peter clutching her to his side, and a painful sore throat.

"Easy Meghan, it's not going anywhere." he joked, now completely sure that she was out of danger. He took her face in his hands and wiped away the few tears that had spilled onto her cheeks due to the violent coughing.

It was almost wrong how good it felt being this close to him. His scent was intoxicating to her, and his strong hands made her feel safe. Safe from choking on her wine, safe from her family issues, but most importantly safe in that he would be there for her when she needed him. She savored the intimate moment, and gently pulled his hands from her face. She found herself staring intensely at his lips, and she needed to get some space between them before she did anything rash. She quickly jumped up from her seat and walked into the kitchen leaving Peter with a puzzled look on his face. He took a moment to take in what had just happened, and moved slowly into the kitchen to her side.

"What's wrong?" he asked with a genuine look of concern in his eyes. He moved closer to her and placed his hand as close as he could to hers without actually touching it. She flinched and turned to look at him.

"Nothing." she lied looking down at the floor. She crossed her arms, and looked in any direction but his. "Today has just been extremely stressful, and that was the icing on the cake." She said sounding as if she might tear up.

He looked at her intensely hoping that she would meet his stare, but she had put up her barriers and there was little hope of getting any more personal information from her. "Let's go back and sit down, and I we can talk about something other than this awful day." he said motioning towards the sofa.

She followed him back to the living area and they talked comfortably for a while. He told her childhood stories that made her laugh like she hadn't in a long time, and she explained listened with undivided attention. Most of his comical anecdotes had a way of reminding her of Lacey which made her smile. All of a sudden, the comfortable banter stopped.

"Can I ask you for some advice?" she asked changing the mood in the room, and making Meghan shift from a comfortable position to a more upright position on the couch.

"Sure." she said obviously fearing the question he was about to ask.  
>He looked away almost as if he were trying to formulate what he was going to say and then turned back to her. " I know this girl." he said in a low voice looking intently at her trying to read her response.<p>

His words knocked the wind out of her. It was the one thing she hadn't wanted to hear. Of all the things he could ask her advice on, why did it have to be this? She tried her best to look unfazed by his words, and quickly mustered up a response. "Go on." she forced out looking completely stoic.

"I have known her for a little while. She is a good person, a little high strung, but overall a really nice person to be around." he looked for the signal to continue, and got it when she stiffly nodded her head. " I have been thinking about her a lot, and I have been trying to work up the courage to ask her out on a date. What should I do about that?" he said confidently.

She pushed all of her feelings for him aside, and went into friend mode. As much as she wanted to tell him the wrong thing to do that would ruin the fledgling relationship, she couldn't do that to her friend. " I personally like a direct approach. If you are beating around the bush, it takes all of the excitement out of it. Most women prefer a man that acts like a man. Creativity is also a factor. No cheesy pick up lines or anything like that. Just do it, and don't put too much thought into it." she said as a slight tightness built up in her gut. She had just told the man that she had feelings for how to get a date with another woman.

" Is that so?" he said with an almost undetectable grin.

"Yep. It never fails confidence is a very attractive quality." she said turning to put her wine glass on the table. As she turned back to him, she felt his hands on her face, and almost instantly after that he covered her lips gently with his. He definitely took her by surprise, and it took her a second to fully understand what was going on. She kissed him back, and after a moment the two broke apart with giant smiles on their faces.

"Very sneaky Mr. Dunlop." she said breathlessly as his hands moved slowly from her face to her waist. She slowly moved her hands up his defined arms to the back of his neck.

"I thought so too." he said with a cocky tone. "So I was thinking we should go out on a date. Of course there would be no wine there. That has proved to be a choking hazard for you." he said with a chuckle.

"I guess I could pencil you in for some time. I have a very busy schedule." she said gently running her fingers through the back of his hair.

" Oh, I see. Well, do you have anything scheduled for tomorrow night at around seven?" he asked still confident.

"Let me think." she said looking as if she were deep in thought. " I may have to move some things around, but I could probably make time." she quipped as he closed the space between them once again.


	2. Chapter 2

She fumbled through her drawers trying to find the clutch that matched the form fitting purple dress she had on. She had seen it several times lately, but as luck would have it, she couldn't find it when she needed it. As soon as she had located the elusive clutch, her phone buzzed on her bedside table. She hopped over while simultaneously trying to put on her shoes. She didn't know why she was hurrying. It was only six-thirty, and she was fully dressed.

When she finally reached her phone, she looked at the screen and a smile crept onto her face. It was a text message from Peter.

_ Is seven still okay? _

She quickly confirmed that seven was in fact okay, and added a smiley face to the end of her text. What was she doing? Who adds smiley faces anymore? She dug the heal of her hand into her forehead, and placed the phone back on the night stand. As soon as she put the phone back on the table, it rang again. She looked at the screen, and the name that appeared didn't have quite the same affect on her as Peter's did. It was Todd.

"Yes?" she said as she answered the phone. She walked over to her mirror, and picked up a few pairs of earrings.

"Hey. How are you Megan?" he said with a cheery voice. The question immediately came to her mind. What does he want?

She held each pair of earrings up to her ear, testing to see which one looked best with the outfit she had on. "I'm swell Todd. What do you need?" she said with an irritated voice. She settled on a pair of diamond studs, and she held the phone between her shoulder and her ear while she put them on.

"Well, the office just called, and I have some work that needs to be done. Before you ask, yes, it is an emergency." he said with an almost rude tone. "I need to bring Lacey over. It will probably take me a while, and she may need to stay the night. Is that okay with you?" he said sounding desperate.

Her heart immediately sank. She didn't want to cancel this date with Peter, but she also wanted to make sure Todd knew that she was always up for spending time with Lacey. "That's fine. You can bring her over now." she said even though it obviously wasn't fine.

He could tell that there was some conflict, but he chose to ignore it. "Thank You. You are a life saver." he said sounding relieved. "I'm positive that I won't be finished until later tonight, and since it is a Friday, she can just spend the night. Would you be okay with her spending the day with you tomorrow also? I have some things to do in town, and I am sure she would love it." he said as she heard Lacey quickly agreeing in the background.

She couldn't help but smile. " That sounds great." she said stepping out of her shoes. She walked over to her bed and plopped down onto the foot of it. "Bring her over whenever." she said playing with the bracelet on her wrist.

"We will be there in a few." he said after telling Lacey to pack enough clothes for the weekend. "Megan, did you by chance have other plans for tonight?" he said obviously checking his surroundings.

She chuckled. "I did, but I can reschedule." she said obviously disappointed. "Lacey is more important." she said unclasping the jewelry that hung loosely around her wrist.

"I'm sorry that I ruined your date." he said with quiet laugh. He hadn't lost the ability to read her mind. Fifteen years of marriage gave him that ability.

"Who said I was going on a date?" she said dumbfounded. She never understood his uncanny ability to read between the lines.

" Okay Megan, I'm sorry I ruined your plans." he said stressing the word plans.

" It's fine." she said through a smile. "I will talk to you when you get here." she said as she hopped off of the bed.

" See you later." he said as she heard Lacey asking him if he had seen her cell phone. She pressed the end button on her phone, and prepared to make the dreaded call to Peter. She had no clue how to break the news to him. They were both excited about the date. For some reason she had found it extremely hard not to flirt with him at work that morning, and he lingered over her shoulder a little longer than usual. She was sure that if they kept it up, someone would notice.

She gathered up all of her courage, and entered his number into her phone. She waited a few seconds, and then she heard his deep voice on the other end of the call.

"Hey. I am just about to leave my apartment. What's up?" he said unaware of what she was about to say.

"Hi." she said obviously not as cheery as she had been when she sent him a smiley face text. "I have some bad news. Todd just called, and he has an emergency at the office. He needs Lacey to stay with me tonight and tomorrow." she said with a mix of excitement and disappointment.

He was silent for a moment, and then she heard him hum as if her were thinking. "Well, I wouldn't necessarily call it bad news." he said not sounding as disappointed as she anticipated. "I have an idea. Why don't I come over and bring dinner to you? If that is okay with you. I don't want to intrude on your time with Lacey." he said sounding hopeful.

"That is fine with me, as long as you don't mind getting beat senseless scrabble. We play every time she comes over, and I must say that being a doctor is quite an advantage." she said crossing her arms and leaning against her bathroom counter.

"We'll see about that." he said obviously ready for the challenge.

" Oh yes we will. She will be here in a few minutes." she said looking over at the clock on the wall.

" Okay. I will change, and go pick up some food." he said tossing his car keys onto his kitchen counter.

" Okay, I will see you when you get here." she said biting her lip.

"Okay. Bye." he said waiting for a second to end the call.

She was extremely excited now. She got to spend time with Lacey and Peter. She was slightly disappointed that she didn't get to show off her new dress, but that could happen another night. She quickly took off the dress, and pulled on her favorite comfy jeans and a plain black tee-shirt. Just as she finished getting all of her clothes hung up she heard a knock at the door. She ran to the door, and checked the peep hole. It was Todd and Lacey.

"Hi." she said excitedly as she opened the door. Lacey walked in followed by Todd carrying all of her luggage.

"Hey Mom." Lacey said as she gave her a hug. Todd placed the bags down in the living area and turned back to the two out of breath.

"Lacey, did you pack your entire wardrobe? Those things weigh a ton." he said bending over and putting his hands on his knees.

"Oh please Dad. I have to be prepared for everything." she said rolling her eyes and giggling.

"That's my girl." Megan said gleaming with motherly pride.

"You two have fun. I will have my cell if you need me." he said walking up to Lacey and giving her a hug.

"We will be fine. Love you Dad." Lacey said plopping down onto the sofa.

"Love you too." he said walking out of the apartment.

"Todd." Megan said catching him by the arm. "Thanks for letting her come over." she said with a smile. "The plans that I originally had have been relocated to here. I hope you don't mind, but I kind of wanted Lacey to meet him anyway." she said nervously.

"Um... that's fine with me. I'm glad you found someone." he said grinning at her.

"Thanks." she said backing into her apartment slowly. "Call me when you need to pick her up tomorrow." she said leaning against the door frame.

"Will do." he said over his shoulder.

She walked in and shut the door. She turned to see Lacey smiling at her.

"What?" she said suspiciously. She walked past her daughter into her kitchen.

"You had a date didn't you." Lacey said hopping off the sofa and following her mother into the kitchen. "I heard Dad talking to you on the phone, and he said something about other plans. Who was it with." she said sitting on one of the bar stools in front of the island in the kitchen.

Lacey's intuitiveness never ceased to amaze her. "Well, I still do have a date if that's okay with you. We were going to go out, but he said that he wouldn't mind joining us in a game of scrabble." she said reading her daughters reaction.

"It's definitely okay with me." she said spinning around and hopping off of the bar stool.

Megan was relieved that Lacey didn't mind Peter coming over. She grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and went to sit on the sofa. She remembered the events from the night before. Peter left only a few minutes after they agreed on a time for the date. She remembered how cute he looked leaning against her door frame, and how nice it felt when he gave her an innocent goodnight kiss. Her thoughts were interrupted by Lacey turning on the TV.

They had made it through almost one whole episode of house hunters when there was a knock at the door. Megan jumped up off of the sofa, and re-adjusted her shirt. She was slightly nervous, but she was mostly excited.

She walked at a hurried pace for the door, and when she opened it she felt butterflies in her stomach. Peter was wearing a pair of dark fitted jeans, and a pale red v-neck tee-shirt. The sleeves of the shirt showed off his toned arms, and the shirt was just tight enough the show that he spent some time in the gym. She was usually a suit and tie kind of girl, but Peter definitely looked good in a pair of Jeans.

"Hey." he said with a smile as she ushered him into the apartment. He placed a few bags on the counter, and turned to her. "I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I decided on eggplant Parmesan. That is your favorite." he said walking slowly over to her.

"You really are observant aren't you." she said crossing her arms.

"I observe for a living." he said leaning back onto the counter. "I wasn't sure what Lacey likes so I got cheese ravioli and chicken Alfredo. I figured she was bound to like one of the two." he said turning to take the food out of the brown paper bag.

"I love chicken Alfredo." Lacey said walking into the kitchen. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her, and she needed to see this mystery man. "Hi. I think we met when I was doing the video project on my mom." she said putting her elbows on the counter.

"I think we did." said Peter looking between the two girls. "I'm glad you like what I got, or else we would have to figure out how to make dinner out of the baking soda and water bottles that are in your mom's fridge." he said winking at Megan.

"I will have you know that there is a jar of olives in there too." she said fake pouting. Lacey laughed at the cute banter between her mom and Peter. It had been a while since she had seen her Mom like this.

"Why don't you two go set up the Scrabble board, and I will put this on some plates." Peter said taking the final container out of the bag.

"Alright." said Megan giving him a flirty look. She stayed behind just long enough to give him a quick peck on the lips without Lacey seeing it, and then she proceeded into the living room.

Once she sat down to set up the game, Lacey dropped down right beside her. "Wow Mom. Congrats on the hot boyfriend." Lacey said placing all of the letters in the bag.

Megan was caught off guard, but she quickly recovered. "He isn't my boyfriend technically." she said trying to think of a way to change the subject. "Did you make sure that all of the letters are there." she said reaching for the score pad.

"They are all here." Lacey said with a smile.

They spent the evening laughing and eating. Megan cut the other two some slack, and didn't bring out her vast medical vocabulary. The hours passed quickly, and before the knew it, it was getting close to midnight. Just as they finished up their second game, Lacey let out a big yawn.

"I am like really tired." she said stretching her arms over her head. Megan and Peter shared a quiet laugh about the fact that she unnecessarily used the word like. "I think I am going to go to bed." she said stretching her legs.

"I should probably be heading home soon too. It is getting pretty late." Peter said looking at his watch.

"I really enjoyed everything." Lacey said heading for the bedroom. "Goodnight." she said over her shoulder as she let out a second yawn.

"Goodnight." Peter said getting up from the sofa and stretching his stiff muscles.

"I will come check on you in a minute." Megan said to Lacey as she slid the scrabble board onto the shelf by her television.

"Okay." Lacey said as she disappeared into her room with a knowing look on her face.

"That was fun." she said as he pulled her up from the sofa. She went to reach for his hand when her's went completely numb. She hissed in pain and started to rub her fingers furiously.

"Here," he said taking her hand, "allow me." He rubbed slow circles on her hand. He continued for a little while, and then he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Better?" he asked stepping closer to her.

"Much better." she said sliding her free hand along his chest, and snaking it around his neck. "You were great with Lacey." she said as he released her hand and slid his hands down to wrap them around her waist.

"She is a great kid." he said leaning down to kiss her. "I really enjoyed tonight." he said walking backwards towards the door.

"Me too. I'm sorry about the abrupt change of plans." she said leaning back against the door.

"It's fine. I didn't mind at all." he said giving her a reassuring look. "I will call you tomorrow?" he said almost as if he were asking permission.

"I will be waiting by the phone." she said jokingly leaning forward to give him a hug.

She loved the way it felt to hug him. She had almost forgotten how nice it was to hug a man, the smell of his cologne surrounding her. She leaned back just enough to look into his eyes. He leaned down and covered her lips with his. It was innocent enough. If her daughter wasn't in the next room, he probably would have been a little less gentlemanly, but this was enough for right now.

"Talk to you tomorrow." he said turning the door knob.

"Definitely." she said watching him head for the elevator.


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, this will be the third chapter. I thank you all for the reviews, and they are very welcome. It seems that the more reviews I get the faster I update. ;) Let me know what you think. I am trying my best to make it fluffyish, and realistic. So here it is...**

** She closed the door, turned on her heels, and leaned back against the large wooden slab. She bit her bottom lip and smiled the way a sixteen year-old would after getting a goodnight kiss from a boy she had a crush on. She felt extremely silly, but it seemed that Peter had that affect on her. **

** She walked briskly through her living room and into Lacey's room. Lacey, had slightly unpacked her monstrous suitcases, and was sitting at the foot of her bed and trying her best to braid her hair.**

** "Do you need some help with that?" Megan said walking over and sitting down beside Lacey.**

** "Sure." she said taking out her loose frizzy braids. "I always try and epically fail at braiding my hair, and dad obviously can't do it." she said throwing her hands up into the air.**

** Megan grabbed a brush from the bed-side table, and gently brushed the knots out of her daughter's hair. "Well, these surgeon hands are very good at braiding hair." she said jokingly. "I would think that you would be great at braiding hair with all of the horse grooming that you have to do." she said questioningly.**

** "I am great at braiding horse hair, but my own is another story." she said playing with the corner of her sheet. "Enough about hair, I want to talk about the cute detective." she said slightly turning her head and grinning at her mother.**

** "Pardon?" Megan said sectioning Lacey's hair off into three parts.**

** "Oh mom, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. You and Peter, making eyes at each other, the non-stop flirting, and the way you twirl you hair when he is talking." Lacey said with a giggle.**

** "I don't know what you are talking about young lady. I did no such thing. That sounds like something a teenage girl would do, and I am a grown woman." Megan said defensively.**

** "Methinks the lady doth protest too much." Lacey said turning her head slightly so she could see her mother's reaction.**

** Megan furrowed her brow, and let out a quiet laugh. "You're studying Hamlet?" she said slightly impressed.**

** "Unfortunately yes, Shakespeare is not my favorite person right now." she said with a sigh. "Back to what I was saying, I like him. I think you two are just too cute together. So whether or not you are dating, you should totally go after that. He seems like a really nice guy." she said with a smile.**

** "I have to agree with you there Lace. He is a really nice guy, and we are just trying out the dating thing. However, it is nice to know that you approve." she said putting a hair tie at the end of the flawless braid. "All done." she said patting Lacey on the back and handing her a mirror.**

** "Wow Mom. That is like perfect." she said hopping up off of the bed.**

** "I am like so glad that you like like it." she said mocking her daughter, and tossing a pillow at her.**

** Lacey smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'm a preteen mom, I can't help my over usage of the word like." she said jumping back onto the bed.**

** "Well it's like time for both of us to go to bed." she said pulling the covers back while Lacey crawled underneath them. Megan tucked them loosely around Lacey and walked towards the door.**

** "Goodnight Mom. Love you." she said turning on her side and hugging a pillow to her stomach.**

** "Love you too Sweetie." she said smiling and closing the door softly behind her.**

** She went to her own room down the hall and prepared for bed herself, and almost as soon as she crawled under the covers she heard her phone vibrate on the bedside table. She grabbed her phone quickly, and smiled as she read the message.**

** _I had a great time tonight. I hope I can take you on a real date soon. Sleep well. :)_**

**She felt butterflies in her stomach. How did he make her swoon with a simple text message. She wasn't sure how he did it, but she knew that she wanted to spend some time finding out. She could tell he was special, and that he was different from all of the men that she had dated before. He genuinely cared for her, and that to her was one of his most endearing qualities. The smiley face at the end of the text message made her chuckle. Obviously someone other than her did use them after all.**

** I know this is a really short chapter, and there is not a lot of Peter and Megan action. I really like the mother daughter relationship building that is in the show, so I thought I would include some of that. Let me know what you think, and I will be working on a good Date for you guys. ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

** Well folks... I apologize that this particular chapter contains a bit of a time jump due to the fact that I don't feel like leaving you hanging any longer. I was sure that you wouldn't mind considering this chapter will be a date chapter. I skipped a few hours, sue me. :) Reviews are greatly appreciated. I love to know what you guys are thinking of what I'm writing. Pretty pretty please click the little review button.**

Well, this day was turning out to be a real winner. First, she got to spend the whole day with her daughter, and second she was on the way to Peter's apartment. He had called earlier that day asking if she would be up for a date. She had hardly played hard to get, and she responded with a quick yes. He told her to come by his apartment after she dropped Lacey off, and he would cook for her. She was very impressed because she knew very few men that would actually cook. Then again, nothing about Peter was normal. He listened when she talked, he was interested in her feelings, and he didn't mind that she had a teenage daughter. He liked her in spite of all of her problems, and he cared for her in spite of the fact that she spent most of her time wrist deep in blood and guts.

She arrived at the apartment and found the apartment number that he specified. She knocked, and within a few seconds, he was at the door wearing a kiss the cook apron. She let out a loud laugh and entered his apartment.

"What are you laughing at?" he said turning to her and arched his eyebrow.

"Nothing. I like your apron." she said walking closer to him.

"You can't blame a man for trying. I actually bought this apron just for our date tonight." he said in a low deep voice.

"Well, since you put so much effort into, I would hate to disappoint you." she said grabbing the strings on his apron and pulling him towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and covered her lips with his. The kiss had a little more heat that the innocent pecks they shared before. He ran his tongue lightly over her bottom lip, and she granted him entrance. The kiss lasted a little longer, and she pulled back and smiled.

"What." he said brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You just look so cute in that apron." she said sliding her hands down his chest.

"Hey! I will have no more of this picking on my apron." he said turning his nose up and turning his back to her.

She slid behind him and wrapped her hands around his chest. "I'm sorry." she said placing a kiss on his back.

"I guess I will forgive you. Here taste this." he said dipping a spoon into a pan on the stove. He blew on the food to make sure that it wouldn't burn her mouth, and offered it to her. She took the spoon and tasted the red mixture.

Her eyes widened, and she quickly looked into the pan. "What is that?" she said obviously very pleased with the food that Peter had given her.

"That would be my home-made marinara sauce." he said with a chuckle. "Do you like it?" he said with a smile as he watched her dip the spoon back into the pot.

"Like it? You should open a restaurant." she said handing him the spoon.

"I'm glad you think so." he said reaching for a plate in the cabinet. "Are you ready to eat?" he said holding the plate in front of her and swirling it around.

"You bet I am!" she said snatching the plate and placing a kiss on his cheek.

He grabbed a plate for himself, and followed her lead. "So are you going to make fun of my apron anymore?" he said peeking over her shoulder.

"If you keep cooking for me, I will buy a matching one and wear it to work." she said looking at him.

"Oh wow. I bet the guys at work would find that entertaining." he said scooping some food onto his plate.

"I take that back. I will buy a matching one and wear it in front of you and... that's about it." she said moving to sit at the bar in the kitchen. He followed her and took the seat beside her.

"That works for me." he said unfolding a napkin and setting it in his lap. The dinner was filled with laughter and conversation. Most of the conversation was Megan trying to force Peter to give her his recipe. She was however unsuccessful despite many attempts. When the two finished eating, Megan offered to take the plates into the kitchen.

" You cooked Peter. The least I can do is wash dishes." she said grabbing his plate and hopping out of her seat. She headed towards the sink, and she reached up to grab the dish detergent. As she did Peter leaned over to get a better look. "I can feel you eyes Dunlop." she said with a smile.

"Sorry." he said throwing his hands up in the air. He slid down off of his chair, and walked over to join Megan at the sink. He slid behind her and slipped one arm around her waist. He used free hand to clear her fiery red hair from her neck. Upon doing so he leaned down to kiss the curve of her neck. He moved up and placed a light kiss behind her ear.

"If you keep that up, these dishes will never be clean." she said closing her eyes and leaning into him slightly.

"They aren't going anywhere." he said placing another kiss on her jaw bone. As he did, she turned around and snaked her arms around his neck. He kissed her lips with a new found passion, and she reciprocated every ounce of it. He firmly grasped her waist and lifted her onto the counter, putting her at the perfect height for him. He moved his hands down and placed them on her thighs while she simultaneously wrapped her legs around his waist. He moved his attention back to her neck while he traced small circles on her thigh with his thumb. She let out a long sigh as he lifted her and carried her into the living room to the couch. She couldn't help giggling when he laid her back on the sofa and slid his thumbs along her ribs. He leaned back and gave her a questioning look.

"I'm sorry. I am extremely ticklish." she said pulling him down for another mind blowing kiss.

"Duly noted." he said sliding his thumbs along her ribs again just to hear her laugh. He leaned in and captured her lips yet again, as she slid her hands up his chest and began to undo the buttons on his shirt. When she was about half way down, the two were startled by a loud ringing. Peter let out an exasperated sigh, and Megan pushed up off of her back to find the source of the ringing.

"I think that's you." she said looking in the direction of the disturbance.

"Judging by that ring tone, I would say that we have a new crime to investigate." he said reluctantly climbing off of the couch to answer the phone. "Dunlop." he said answering the call and leaning against the kitchen counter.

Megan listened to the conversation, and sat up from her previous position on the sofa. She couldn't help but laugh at Peter's obvious irritation. She watched him rake his hands through his silky blonde hair, and take a writing pad and pen from a basket on the counter.

" I'll be right there." he said pressing the end button and all but slamming the phone down on the counter. "We have a case." he said walking towards her with his disheveled hair and half-way unbuttoned shirt.

"I gathered." she said brushing his hair to the side, and buttoning his shirt. "I assume I will be receiving a call soon." she said crossing her arms.

"I guess so." he said obviously disappointed.

" Well, I guess you will just have to cook for me again some time soon." she said seductively as she sauntered off into the kitchen to gather her things. He stood there with his hand on his hip and smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

**So, I am really starting to like this story. I am trying to come up with some new ideas, but a little help would be nice. If anyone wants to send me a PM of some ideas they would like to see me write about, or write it in your review, I would love to hear/read some ideas. This particular chapter is going to contain some conflict... OH MY! I read somewhere (possibly soap opera digest) that a happy couple is a boring couple. Let's see what happens. As always, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

Wow. The past three days had been horrible. First a very nice date with Peter had been interrupted by a dead body, second it was one of those cases, she had spent way too much time at work this week, she hadn't had much sleep, she was cranky, and she was pretty sure she and Peter didn't see eye to eye on some aspects of this case. It was a lover's quarrel, or so it appeared. The victim was a female in her mid thirties, who had apparently found herself in an abusive relationship. Death appeared to be caused by strangulation, but after taking a closer look, she found that she was poisoned. The point at which they didn't agree on is who did it.

The obvious choice was the abusive boyfriend with a bad temper, but a lack of evidence kept him out of the interrogation room. The other suspect was the victim's ex- husband. He was obviously distraught about his ex-wives death, but Megan had sensed something suspicious about him. Now they weren't really speaking except for the occasional yes and no.

She stood completely still over the autopsy table, contemplating all of the possibilities. Why would the abusive boyfriend, being a large muscular guy, poison her. Then again, why would her husband poison her. Nothing about this case made any sense. In the middle of her deep thought, she sensed that someone had joined her in the room. She turned on her heels and looked around her to find Peter walking in the door. She smiled weakly at him, and crossed her arms. She didn't know why she always did that, but it was almost like her way of protecting herself when she felt that someone was trying to come onto her life. Her way of keeping from getting hurt.

"Hi." he said shyly, feeling like he was walking on egg shells around her. "I had the stomach contents tested again, and poisoning is confirmed as the cause of death." he said leaning against one of the empty tables.

"God! This case doesn't make any sense!" she said exasperated. She slammed her hand down on the table, and immediately regretted it. Pain shot through her hand, and it immediately went numb. "Ugh." she screamed as she massaged her hand. She felt tears well up in her eyes, not because she was sad, but because she was extremely frustrated, and now in pain.

"Megan, calm down. It's okay." he said taking a few steps closer to her. "Maybe you should go home for a while and get some rest. You seem really stressed." he said reaching out to touch her hand.

She immediately backed away. "No Peter. Now is not the time. Just back off. You may be able to walk away from a case, but I can't. I just can't" she said becoming louder and louder with each statement. She fought as hard as she could to keep the tears back.

"What's that supposed to mean Megan?" he said furrowing his brow. He stepped back, and crossed his arms.

"I don't know Peter. This is getting more and more complicated." she said running her fingers through her hair. "I don't know if I can do this. I am not sure I can handle this, and do my job." she said not making eye contact with him.

"Megan don't do this. I care about you, and I know you care about me too. I won't let you throw this away for the job." he said invading her personal space. She turned her back to him, and as she did, the tears fell on her cheeks. "Megan." he said putting a hand on her tiny shoulder. "Why don't we just go home and get some rest and think. I think we are both just irritable." he said letting his hand drop to his side.

"Peter, I don't know if thinking will be enough. I don't want you to feel like you can't disagree with me just because we are in a relationship, or whatever label you would put on what we are. I thought I could handle mixing personal and professional, but now, I'm not so sure." she said swallowing a lump in her throat.

"There are too many reasons to try and make this work Megan. Why don't we just talk it out." he said reaching out for her.

"Not everything can be fixed by talking Peter. Not everything is smoothed over by you wiggling your way into my life and trying to help me." she said tossing her hands up and turning to face him.

"You are brilliant Megan, but when it comes to relationships you are clueless. I'm going home, and I hope you will do the same." he said obviously wounded by her words. He gave her one last pleading look and turned to the exit.

She made no attempt to stop him or convince him to stay. She just stood there trying to keep her emotions at bay until he had left the room. After she was sure that he was gone, she released a loud sob, and sank down to the floor with her back against the wall. She sat there with her own thoughts for a while, and the word that kept coming to her was why. Why couldn't she have a normal relationship with a man, why did she always push people away, why did she always put her job first, and why did she keep taking out her frustrations on the one man that really cared for her? She didn't have answers to any of these questions, but one thing was for sure, she had screwed up.

Peter was possibly one of the best things that had happened to her in a while, and she had potentially just lost not only a good friend, but a great guy in general. She had to make things right, no matter what happened to her pride. She pushed herself up off of the floor, and walked out of the morgue. This was going to be hard for her.

She grabbed her purse and keys and headed for her car. She found her mind drifting as she drove to his apartment. What could she possibly say to make this better, and would he even give her a second chance? She thought of what she would say, the whole way there, but as she knocked on his door, all of the words left her.

He opened the door slowly, and looked her right in the eyes. He noticed her tear stained cheeks, and blood shot eyes. Normally when he saw her she was wearing heels, and walking confidently though her domain, but now she looked extremely small and fragile. His heart ached for her, even though he was the one that was supposed to be angry. He felt the anger slowly melt away, and he reached out to pull her into a hug. More large tears formed in her eyes, and as he reached out for her, they fell onto her cheeks. She walked slowly into the hug, and buried her face in his chest. He stroked her hair, and placed a kiss on the top of her head. They remained completely silent for a long time, until peter reached out and closed the door.

"Peter." she said trying to gather her words. " I was wrong. I don't know why I keep pushing you away, and I don't know why I can't let myself be happy." she said as he wiped the tears from under her eyes. " I was thinking for a while at the office, and I realized that you make me happy, and it seems that in my life everything that makes me happy gets taken away. First it was Todd, then Lacey, then my job, and I am afraid that if I get too attached to you I will lose you too. Now that I hear myself saying this I feel stupid, but then again when it comes to relationships I am clueless." she said with a weak grin.

"I think I understand. I mean I can't say that I fully understand, because I haven't had to deal with all of the heartache that you have. I need to stop pushing so hard." he said looking down at the floor.

"Well, if I weren't so stubborn, you wouldn't have to push." she said also looking at the floor. "I guess I just need you to bear with me for a little while. I am still a little gun shy when it comes to this type of stuff. The last time I had really strong feelings for someone I got burned, and I guess I just need some help." she said as he looked up at her.

"I will be glad to help you." he said reaching for her hands. "I really care about you Megan, and I am not going to let your past get in the way of what we have. You are really special, and I won't give up on us." he said placing a kiss on her hand.

She smiled, and reached out for another hug. She felt his heart beat through his button down shirt, and she felt the rise and fall of his toned chest. She memorized the way it felt to be in his arms, and she knew at that moment that no matter what the cost, she was going to make this work.

**Whew... That was a tough one to write. That was the first time that I have really included the crime aspect in one of my stories. So if it isn't all correct, I apologize. I hope that I didn't scare you all too much. ;) Let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

I know it has been a while, but I have been in Europe for the past few weeks, so I haven't really had a good opportunity to write. However, I have had a good bit of inspiration, so we will see how that goes. Please review. Thanks for reading.

Megan woke up the next morning with puffy swollen eyes, and a killer headache. This always happened to her when she was crying the day before, and she definitely did her fair share of that the night before. She remembered the events of the previous evening, and felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't believe how she had treated Peter. He was so great for her and she had pushed him away just like every other good thing in her life. As she laid in bed that night, she vowed that she wouldn't allow herself to keep happiness at arms' length. Peter was worth the risk.

She rolled out of bed, and staggered to the bathroom. As her feet hit the cold tile floor, she heard her phone buzz on her bedside table. She smiled hoping it was peter.

_I think it is about time that we had a proper date._

She plopped back onto the bed, and formulated a response.

_I think you are right. What did you have in mind?_

She waited impatiently for his reply.

_That's for me to know, and you to find out. Just wear something casual and comfortable. I will be by to pick you up in about an hour?_

She admired his take charge attitude. She loved a man that knew how to be a man.

_Sounds great. See you then. :)_

She tossed her phone back onto the bed, and ran into the bathroom excitedly. she tossed her pajamas onto the floor, and hopped into the shower. As the warm shower enveloped her, she thought of how her relationship with Peter had changed lately. They had always had a chemistry, but it had remained strictly professional until that fateful night when Peter came to her apartment. She was definitely glad that he did. She rinsed the last remaining traces of shampoo and conditioner out of her hair, and hopped out of the shower quickly. She dried her hair, put on a little make up, and threw on her favorite jeans and a white t-shirt.

She was having a cup of coffee when she heard a knock at the door. When she heard the wrapping on the door, her stomach fluttered. He definitely had an affect on her. She walked quickly over to the door and opened it.

"Hey there." he said in a slow deep voice. He reached out for her and pulled her into a hug. She slid her hands around his neck, and nuzzled into his chest.

"Hey yourself." she said standing up on her tiptoes the give him a soft kiss.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked still having a firm grasp on her waist.

"Yep." she said giving him another kiss, and turning to grab her purse. "So what are the plans?" she said raising an eyebrow and giving him a curious look.

"I can't tell you now. It would ruin the surprise." he said crossing his arms. She huffed in defeat, and scowled. "You are pretty cute when you are mad." he said turning on his heels out of the apartment.

"Shut up." she said with a chuckle. She followed close behind him until they got to the elevator. he reached out for the button, and after he reached for her hand. He enclosed her much smaller hand in his, and she leaned into his side. He placed a soft kiss in her hair, and the scent of lavender filled his nostrils.

On the elevator ride, they encountered Megan's nosy neighbor Ms. Jennings. She had two married daughters, and not enough occupation. Whenever Megan had dated in the past, Ms. Jennings had inserted herself into the relationship. Megan knew she had good intentions, but she was quite annoying at times.

"Well, who do we have here?" Ms. Jennings said smiling at Peter.

"This is my friend Peter." Megan said putting her hand on his chest.

"It's nice to meet you." Peter said reaching out to shake her hand. She shook his hand, and continued smiling.

"Well Megan, I hope you have a good time with your friend Peter." she said adding stress to the word friend.

"Thank you." Megan said slightly elevator dinged and stepped out after winking at Megan.

"That woman has too much time on her hands." Megan said shaking her head. All Peter did was chuckle.

**Well, Sorry about this, but i seem to be experiencing a bit of writer's block. I don't know why, but i haven't really been full of good ideas lately. So, I think i will leave the date until later when i feel a little more confident about my writing. Thanks for reading, and I will update asap.**


	7. Chapter 7

**So, I am going to try my hand at a date. I have been experiencing a little romance myself lately, so I guess i feel inspired. I hope you like it.**

"So, Can I at least have a hint?" she said from the passenger seat. He scanned the road and turned to Megan.

"You aren't a surprise type of person are you?" he asked with his famous smug grin. She bit her lip and shook her head at him. "Well, you don't have that much longer to wait, and believe me, it will be worth the wait." he said casually tracing circles on her knee.

"Ok, I guess I can wait." she said in defeat. "You are lucky , If you weren't so cute I might not be so easily subdued." she said grabbing his hand. He let out a soft laugh and he ran his thumb over the back of his hand.

They rode in silence for a few minutes until they reached a familiar area of town. "Why are we at the stables where Lacey takes lessons?" Megan said looking over at Peter.

"Well, I had a conversation with Lacey the other day, and she told me that you used to be quite the rider. She said you never have time now, so I thought it would be a fun thing for us to do together." he said searching her face for approval. She smiled over at him, and bit her lip.

"I haven't ridden a horse in years. I was always too worried about my surgeon hands. They were too valuable to risk. I haven't even thought about riding again." she said with a look of nostalgia.

"Well, let's see what you've got." he said shifting the car into park and hopping out. She took that as a challenge, and quickly followed him. Peter checked in and got all of the information that they needed."Wait here, and I am going to go get something from the car." he said leaning down to give her a soft kiss.

She smiled, and turned to look at the horses. As she turned, she saw the most beautiful brown and white pinto in the first stall. She moved slowly towards the huge animal, and reached up gently to run her hands up and down his nose. Until that moment, she had forgotten just how much she had missed being around horses. They were yet another thing that her job as a neurosurgeon had taken away from her. She was too afraid of injuring her million dollar hands. While she was petting and talking to the horse, she failed to realize that Peter was admiring her from afar.

"You look like a natural." Peter said pulling her close to him and encircling her waist with his arms.

"You were right this was worth the wait." she said sliding her hands up to his neck.

"Are you ready to go?" he said raising an eyebrow and reaching over to pet the horse.

"I was born ready." she said sauntering off into the tack room.

From the moment she jumped on the back of the horse, Peter could tell that she had years of experience. She moved fluidly and with the confidence of a seasoned rider. They rode for hours, and Peter had a hard time keeping up. After a few hours of riding, they decided to give the horses a rest under a large shade tree. As they approached the tree, Megan noticed the red and white checkered blanket and the large wooden picnic basket. She pulled on the reins signaling the horse to stop.

"Hungry?" he asked hopping down from his horse and walking over to help her down.

"Peter Dunlop, how did you manage this." she said signaling to the spread on the ground.

"I am a man of many talents." he said wiggling his eyebrows and tying his horse's reins to the tree. She rolled her eyes, and plopped down onto the ground. They ate and laughed and exchanged compliments on the other's riding abilities. Peter had a hard time concentrating on the conversation. He couldn't help but stare at her. Even though she wasn't wearing some skin tight dress or sky-high heels, she still looked incredible. In fact, he thought that she never looked more beautiful than she did at that moment.

She was in the middle of a story about her first jumping competition, when he reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She stopped mid sentence, and raised her eyebrow questioningly. "What's wrong?" she said noticing the dazed look on his face.

"Absolutely nothing." he said looking her in the eyes. "Everything is perfect." she gave him a small smile and leaned in to give him a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her into his lap. He slid his hands along her rib cage, and she let out a loud laugh.

"Peter, I'm really ticklish." she said through laughs and gasps.

"I noticed." he said in a low voice craning his neck to kiss the spot behind her ear. He looked up at the horizon and noticed that the sun was beginning to set, and some clouds were moving in. "Unfortunately, we should probably get back to the stables. It's getting dark, and it looks like it might rain." he said hopping up and reaching down to help her up from the ground.

She groaned as he helped her up, and moved slowly towards her horse trying to regain the feeling in her legs.

"Race you back to the stables?" he said hopping onto the back of the horse.

"You're on." she said gently kicking the side of her horse and steering him in the direction of the stables.

Once they arrived at the stables, they quickly put everything away, and got to the car trying to avoid being soaked by the rain. The ride home was rather quiet, but it was a comfortable silence. About five minutes into the ride, the bottom fell out. The rain fell in huge drops, and Peter had to slow down significantly to keep control of the car.

"Do you have an umbrella in here?" Megan asked plundering through the glove box.

"Umm..." he said chewing on the inside of his lip. "I don't think I do." he said raising his eyebrow.

"Well, I guess we will just have to get wet." she said closing the glove box, and turning to him.

"I guess so." he said pulling the car into a parking space in front of Megan's apartment complex. " Are you ready?" he said with a smile.

"As ready as I'll ever be." she said appearing to be slightly apprehensive.

Peter jumped from the driver's side, and ran around to the passenger side to help Megan out of the car. He opened the door and tried his best to shield her from the rain that had already soaked through his clothes, but to no avail. Peter gave up on trying to shield her from the rain, and he stopped to pull her into a heated kiss. She ran her hands over his broad chest. The rain caused his shirt to cling to his muscular chest, and she moved her hands up to run her fingers through his rain drenched hair. When they came up for air, they both burst into a fit of laughter.

"We better get inside before we get pneumonia." he said kissing her neck and pulling at the hem of her shirt just to feel her skin under his fingers.

She moaned in response, and he took that as his signal. They moved clumsily to the elevator, and when the doors opened, they fell in and continued their make-out session. They made it to the door of her apartment, but they had to control themselves temporarily, because just happened to be right outside of the elevator.

"Hey Megan and Peter." the older woman said raising her eyebrow at them. "I see you got caught in the rain." she said looking at them suspiciously.

"Yeah, we didn't have an umbrella, so we are going to dry our clothes." she said as she felt his hand creep down her back and onto her rear-end. She let out a gasp, and gave Peter the evil eye. "We will see you later ." she said backing away from her neighbor and fumbling with her apartment keys. She finally succeeded in opening the door, and as soon as she closed it, her back was flush against it.

"I should probably get you out of these wet clothes." he said pushing her now see-through shirt above her head. "I wouldn't want you to get a cold." he said pinning her arms against the door and beginning his assault on her neck.

She freed her arms, and pulled his shirt above his head, and slid her hands down his muscular arms and across his chest. He reached down and lifted her up to carry her into the bedroom.

"You were right about having many talents." she said breathlessly tilting her head back to give him better access to her neck.

**Sooooo... I'm sure you see that little blue review button right below. If you don't mind, click it and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Howdy guys... Well, I hate to disappoint, but I don't really think I will be writing an M rated chapter. It's not really my style. Sorry! I hope it won't keep you from reading my fic. :(**

She stretched her arms above her head, and turned to see an empty place beside her in the bed. A slight feeling of panic shot through her, but she caught a whiff of coffee and her fear subsided. She grabbed some pajamas from her dresser, and made her way into the kitchen. She spotted Peter in his t-shirt and boxers flipping some pancakes onto a plate.

"Good morning sleepy-head." he said tossing the plate onto the counter and moving over to kiss her on the forehead.

"Good morning." she said leaning into his chest. "I thought you had left until I smelled the coffee." she said tilting her head back to meet his eyes.

"Meghan, I'm not going anywhere." he said giving her a soft kiss.

She smiled in return, and reached for the coffee pot. "This looks great." she said rubbing his back.

"Well, I have been told that I should open a restaurant." he said raising his eyebrow at her. She smiled at him in return, and reached for an empty plate to get some pancakes.

They ate their breakfast in peace until a call interrupted them. Megan groaned and reached for her phone. "It was fun while it lasted." she said before answering her phone."." she said hopping off of the bar stool.

Peter grabbed the dishes, and started cleaning up. He heard Megan end the call, and come back into the kitchen.

"I'm sure you will get a call soon." she said taking a sip of her coffee. "I am going to go take a shower." she said closing the space between them. "Thanks for last night." she said placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"I'll see you at the scene." he said making his way to the door.

It was an easy open and shut case, but the paperwork was time consuming. Megan, Peter, Curtis, and Ethan were the last people in the office, Kate had left early for a date with Todd. Megan and Peter were tying up all of the loose ends when Ethan and Curtis entered the morgue.

"Hey guys, I think we are calling it a night." Ethan said leaning against the door frame.

Peter and Megan nodded and made inaudible affirmative noises.

"I will take that as an okay." Ethan said with a laugh as he and Curtis quickly walked out of the morgue.

After he was sure Ethan and Curtis were gone, Peter got up and moved towards Megan's desk. "We are alone finally." he said leaning down to place a kiss on her neck. He turned her chair around to face him and placed his arms on either side of her.

"Peter, we only have a little bit more to do." she said tilting her head to give him better access.

"Don't you think we could leave it for tomorrow." he said almost in a growl. She smiled and found his lips. He pulled her from her chair, and kissed her senseless.

"Hey, have you guys seen my..." Ethan stopped dead in his tracks. Megan and Peter released each other and cleared their throats. "Um, Im sorry to interrupt." he stuttered, slowly backing out of Megan's office. Once he was out of the doorway, he all but ran away.

Megan and Peter looked at each other and burst into laughter. "I guess everyone will know by tomorrow morning." Peter said scrubbing his hands over his face.

"Great." Megan said sarcastically.

**Sorry it's short, but the last chapter was pretty long. PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Well folks... I sincerely apologize for the extremely long delay on this update. I have been rather uninspired lately due to some personal turmoil. Anyways, I am going to start writing with no plan and hope that something good comes out of it. I feel kind of obligated to continue this story because of the lack of interest in writing fanfics for this show. I just don't get it! There are not that many "meter" fics, so I will continue this until i feel like there is nothing left to write. :) Please REVIEW!**

As they stepped into the elevator together to head up to their floor, Megan and Peter brace themselves for the giggles and scrutinizing looks that awaited them. They were sure that Ethan immediately told Curtis, and the chain continued from there.

"This is going to be an interesting day." Peter said standing in front of her and making sure they made eye contact. "I am sorry about last night. I should have been more careful." he said with remorse.

"Hey, I was just as much a part of it as you. Besides, after last night's performance you have nothing to apologize for." she said with a wink.

His face filled with pride, and he reached out to pull her face to his. They shared a heated kiss until the elevator alerted them that the doors were about to open. He gave her hand one last squeeze, and they made their way to their respective offices. Megan held her head high as always despite the looks and hushed tones that were surrounding her.. She walked with pride and confidence until she saw Kate glaring at her.

"Megan, could I please see you in my office?" she said with no expression on her face. Megan dreaded the conversation that would ensue. She just knew that Kate was going to giver the whole spiel about how inappropriate it was to be in a relationship with Peter. She took a deep breath and made her way to the office.

"Listen Kate, I know what you are going to say, and I am sorry. Peter is just the first guy I have ever felt this way about since the divorce, and..." she spouted quickly before being cut off by Kate.

"I see you took my advice and ran with it." she said with a smile. Megan simply responded with an extremely puzzled look. "I told you to make some friends, and you have done better than that. I am not angry. I am happy for you Megan, just as long as it doesn't interfere with your work." Kate said not allowing herself to sound too friendly, and keeping her authority.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that. Um... I won't let anything interfere with my work." she said nodding in disbelief.

"That's all." Kate said turning back to her desk.

Megan walked briskly to her office and shut the door behind her. She pulled out her phone to text Peter. She realized how stupid it was to text him when he was right down the hall, but they had decided to keep their distance when possible at work. It may have been pointless since everyone already knew, but she figured they should try to act as normal as possible.

_Hey__we__are__in__the__clear__with__Kate.__She__said__she__is__happy__for__us._

She waited impatiently for a reply, and began to reorganize her desk. Finally her phone vibrated and she quickly opened and read the message.

_Whew!__That__must__have__been__an__awkward__conversation!__She__can't__possibly__be__as__happy__as__i__am__though.__:)_

She felt her chest tighten and her heart flutter. She hadn't felt that way in several years. Todd used to make her feel that way before she became consumed by her work, and he completely shut her out of his life. It scared her to know that Peter had that much power over her, and that he didn't even know it. He could make her swoon with a simple text message. She wondered to herself what these feelings were. The word love came to mind, and she quickly pushed it away. She couldn't possibly be in love with Peter. They had only been dating him for a few weeks. Then she thought about their strong friendship prior to their declaration of feelings, and she realized that they had started their relationship in a very advanced stage. They had already covered getting to know each other, and the physical part of the relationship, and everything was great; it was beyond great. Maybe it was possible...

She was startled from her thoughts by her mother bursting into her office.

"Megan how are you?" she said tossing her coat onto the back of the chair.

"Well, right now i am trying to recover from the heart palpitations caused by you bursting into my office. I'm doing pretty well over all though." she said grasping her chest and letting out a deep breath.

" Wonderful! So I heard you are seeing someone." she said looking down at her fingernails.

"You sure don't beat around the bush do you mother?" she said in disbelief. "If you must know, I am seeing someone, and I am very happy." she said almost trying to upset her mother with her happiness.

"That's great." she said almost sounding sincere. "Lacey told me that he is "quite the hottie", but she didn't give me any names." she said with a smirk.

"Okay mother, this conversation is becoming far to personal for my taste. I have work to do." she said evading her mother's obvious curiosity about Peter.

"Is it that charming man you brought to my benefit that time?" she said sounding like a gossiping teenager.

Megan didn't have the chance to respond before she saw Peter standing behind the glass of her door signaling that he needed to talk to her.

"Listen mother, we can have this conversation later. Hopefully it will be much later." she said glancing quickly at Peter.

"Whatever you say Megan." her mother said with a knowing look. She grabbed her coat and turned on her heels to exit the office. Soon after she was out of sight, Peter walked cautiously through the door. She felt her chest tighten yet again at the sight of him in his sweater and collared shirt. She really needed to find out why she kept having these weird feelings.

"Hey, I know we are supposed to be keeping our distance, but I have something I need to talk to you about." he said nervously with his hands in his pockets.

"Its ok. Whats going on." she said standing up and leaning on her desk.

"Well, my sister just called, and she wants me to come visit her this weekend." he said twiddling his thumbs. Megan nodded for him to continue. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me, but you don't have to if you aren't ready or you don't want to. It's ok. I told her you may or may not come." he said stumbling over his words.

She smiled at him. She thought it was so cute when he was nervous about something. " Peter, I would love to go." she said smiling at him. He breathed a sigh of relief, and moved to kiss her. He immediately stopped himself, and growled angrily.

"Damn these glass walls." he said drawing a laugh from Megan. "I can't wait." he said looking into her eyes.

"I want to kiss you so much right now." she said with a giggle. He rubbed his beard with his hands, and nodded.

" I know the feeling." he said with frustration. "Well i better get out of here before someone catches us in the act again. I will get back to you with details." he said backing away from her slowly.

"Okay. I will talk to you later." she said with a wink. Almost as if on cue Curtis walked into her office. The three of them looked back and forth at each other awkwardly until Curtis broke the silence.

"Mmhmm." he said looking at both of them before leaving the room. Peter rolled his eyes and Megan slammed her palm to her forehead. This was going to be more difficult than she thought.

**OOOOOOH.****What****will****happen****at****Peter's****sister's****house.****How****will****she****feel****about****Megan?****Who****knows,****but****keep****reading****to****find****out.****I****will****try****my****best****to****update****sooner****this****time.****Reviews****really****keep****me****going,****so****please****click****the****little****blue****button****below****and****let****me****know****what****you****are****thinking.****Thanks****for****reading!**


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